In some ways Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) appears to be very traditional. He worked as an apprentice in a workshop to develop his craft. He studies ancient sources such as Plato and Aristotle and Galen. He conducted experiments to justify his research.

Leonardo Da Vinci's studies of the human anatomy are a small, but significant fraction of his artistic and scientific experiments. Through observation, literature, and even dissections, Leonardo Da Vinci created a wide portfolio of studies on the human body. The more closely we examine the system underlying Leonardo's study of the body however, the more clearly we recognize its originality. Where earlier authors had relied almost exclusively on verbal descriptions, Leonardo emphasizes the significance of visual descriptions. This paper will give an overview of the history of Leonardo's anatomical studies, beginning in the workshop of Verrochio. It will then examine how the influences of his life shaped his understand and approach to anatomical studies. It will lastly examine one of Leonardo's most famous studies about the human body that emphasized the idea of Renaissance humanism.

[...] As we examine the history of Leonardo studies on anatomy one thing is pervasively obvious: Leonardo represented the ideals of a Renaissance man in almost everything he did and this was no exception. His studies on anatomy are approached by the duality of both an artist and a scientist namely. Leonardo's studies on the body left a legacy of notes and drawings and there is no doubt that Leonardo consistently understood the ideals of Renaissance humanism in his studies. Vitruvian Man Perhaps the most famous representation of human anatomy that Leonardo ever created was the Vitruvian man in the year 1487. [...]

[...] As noted form the notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, true science cold be acquired through the following steps : Experience the world around us as gained through the senses as a starting point. 2.) Reason and contemplation , which, though linked through the senses, stands above and outside of them , deduced external and general laws from transitory and particular experiences. 3.) The laws must be demonstrated though a logical sequence and 4.) They must be tested and verified by experiment? (Richter, 1998). [...]